The present invention generally relates to armament apparatus and, in a preferred embodiment thereof, more particularly relates to a specially designed rotatable pintle arm assembly used to operatively mount a machine gun, representatively on an end of a support plank structure disposed within a helicopter cabin area at a door opening thereof.
In military helicopters, machine guns are often mounted in the cabin area inwardly adjacent a side door opening thereof so that the machine gun may be manually fired outwardly from the door opening area. Conventionally configured mounting structures for these machine guns are typically subject to several problems, limitations and disadvantages. For example, to reposition the gun from its firing orientation to a stowed orientation within the cabin area it is necessary to lift the gun and upwardly pivot it about a horizontal axis of its underlying support structure into the cabin area. This procedure must subsequently be reversed to later reposition the gun in its firing orientation. Because of the weight and bulk of the gun, this tends to be an awkward and difficult task. Additionally, it can be hazardous to the gun operator if, during the vertical pivoting of the gun, the gun or its associated mounting structure falls on the operator or pinches his hand or other body part.
A further problem typically associated with conventionally constructed machine gun mounting structures, particularly in this application, is that they tend to permit an undesirably large degree of "play" between the mounting structure and the underlying base structure to which it is secured. This mounting structure play undesirably reduces the aiming accuracy of the supported gun during firing thereof. Another disadvantage of a conventionally constructed machine gun mounting structure in this particular application is that its bottom portion which is anchored to the underlying support structure is maintained in a fixed relationship with such support structure. The result is that horizontal gun rotation can be achieved only at the juncture between the gun and the upper portion of the mounting structure that contacts and supports the gun.
As can be readily seen from the foregoing, a need exists for an improved machine gun mounting structure which addresses these problems, limitations and disadvantages. It is to this need that the present invention is directed.